RoyalDude wrote:Is the biggest faggy, over-rated trophy in all of sports. If I hear any more crap about how awesome it is to win it, I will fucking puke. It is so not an indication of how one team will perform in the playoffs, in fact, it's a fucking monkey on your back, a big fucking silverback just whaling away on ya while you try and haul it around during the playoffs. A big waste of fucking time, who the fuck cares.

I guess I should have invited you to my PT party, it was fucking awesome.

5thhorseman wrote:
They all have trophies or pennants or whatever, but the fact that I'd have to go look them up is just more proof of how meaningless they are.

No they do not.

Much like the NHL they all get a little flag (or pennant in baseball), as recognition of a division or league championship prior to their ultimate game or series.

The NHL is the only league that awards a first overall trophy for its regular season.

I'm not saying they (or the Presidents trophy) are particularily meaningful (especially in regard to a Cup, Super Bowl, World Series or Larry O'Brien trophy), I'm just saying people in this thread are accusing, or using as fodder for their debate, NA sports of glorifying a regular season first place overall finish when the fact is the NHL is the only one that does so.

5thhorseman wrote:
They all have trophies or pennants or whatever, but the fact that I'd have to go look them up is just more proof of how meaningless they are.

No they do not.

Much like the NHL they all get a little flag (or pennant in baseball), as recognition of a division or league championship prior to their ultimate game or series.

The NHL is the only league that awards a first overall trophy for its regular season.

I'm not saying they (or the Presidents trophy) are particularily meaningful (especially in regard to a Cup, Super Bowl, World Series or Larry O'Brien trophy), I'm just saying people in this thread are accusing, or using as fodder for their debate, NA sports of glorifying a regular season first place overall finish when the fact is the NHL is the only one that does so.

I stand corrected.

On researching further I couldn't find a trophy or named award for any of the NA major league sports, except possibly MLB. The American and National League champions are decided not through league standings but via the ALCS and NLCS, which are distinct from the "ultimate game or series", the World Series. The respective trophies are the William Harridge and Warren C Giles trophies. The ALCS and NLCS, not league standings, also determine who wins the pennant.

rats19 wrote:What the PT does do Is give a measure of the franchise from top to bottom. Winning consecutive years DOES mean you have an elite team . Playoff success is another animal.

Here's an interesting look at the PT

Let's Stop Maligning the President's Trophy

by Central Canada Canucklehead on May 7, 2012 8:03 AM PDT

Okay, sure, it’s not the Stanley Cup and nothing has the lustre of that Holy Grail. In fact, if you put a dozen NHL trophies on a table and asked fans to pick out the President’s Trophy from the lot, most would have to get close enough to read the engraving to be sure.

But the fact is that having the best record over the 82 game grine is no small feat. In some ways it is a bigger accomplishment than winning 16 games in the playoffs. Sure, playoff games are way more intense, the physical toll is enormous, the mental strain of the media glare and the constant threat of elimination are taxing and thrilling at the same time. But six months of fluctuating travel schedules, widely varying styles of opponents, trade deadline worries, injury rehab, and the sheer number of games presents its own challenges.

Upsets happen in the playoffs, but why do they happen, why are they considered upsets? Because the team that loses has proven over 82 games to be a superior squad to the one that got hot at "the right time". Many factors go into an upset: overall team health; a hot or cold goaltender; streaks; matchups at key positions; coaching; bad bounces; the quality of refereeing (which despite the NHL's blind insistence is far from consistent in this league, especially in the playoffs). Often a team that upsets a favourite is cannon fodder in the next round, having already achieved beyond their true abilities by playing over their heads for seven games or less.

I think you can make a very valid argument that the President’s Trophy winner is more likely to be the actual best team in the league rather than the Stanley Cup winner. You can get hot and steal playoff series and sneak out a Cup win. But no one wins the PT by accident. I mean, was Edmonton really the 2nd best team in the NHL in 2006?

They don't throw any parades for the President's Trophy winner, this is true. They also don't hold any riots.

If the playoffs were a true continuation of the regular season in terms of officiating, like they are in the NFL, then the President's Trophy might be considered redundant. As it stands, however, what happens in the post-season appears somewhat random. Perhaps recognizing the league champion is perfectly valid.

By the way, I'm sure as hell not trading these two PT winning years for anything in the previous 4 decades of Canucks hockey. Remember the 70s? The 80s? The late 90s? How soon we forget.

There's no point knocking around the President's Trophy simply because it's ultimately not the one we wanted. Slow internet day for RD, I think.

I used to think that all that mattered was how the playoffs went, but now, not as much. We spend so much of our day to day lives following the ups and downs, and all arounds, of the regular season. 82 games - that's a lot! Each and every game that takes place represents another day of our lives, the players lives, and another battle on the ice leading to the inevitable outcome of winner or loser. With each victory, comes a sense of satisfaction for the day, life is just a little better when the day accompanies a win. So we have had the good fortune to appreciate that kind of satisfaction more that any other fans of other teams in the league. Is it all for naught because the entual outcome at the end of it all isn't the Stanley Cup? Not for me... at least not anymore. Even the early departure in the first round, can't undo all of the days that were lived with the experience of a regular season victory. As we get older, I think we realize more and more it really is about the now; being in the moment; we've had lots of moments over the year. Sure, it probably sets us up to have expectations which in turn stings a little more when the playoffs end early. But life goes on eh... It's amusing that as one piece of the over-all season ends, another piece emerges, and here we come to ponder along with other Canuck fan freaks, the 'other questions: Luongo? Missing pieces? and on and on, and then we do it all again next year..and again - the draft, rfas, fas, trades, contracts .. training camp.. what does HW have to say? So really, there is something Zen-like, in being able to appeciate each and every piecce of it as it unfolds day by day. STanley can't happen without the rest of it. So there's something to be said for embracing the process, and in all of this process, the President's Trophy is only going to one team, and its been ours two years running. Essentially this means we have had more high quality Zen over the year than other team's fans... that's `choice' for sure.